NATIONAL COLLEGIATE BASEBALL WRITERS NEWSLETTER (Volume 43, No. 2, Feb. 27, 2004) NCBWA President’s Message By NCBWA President Jeff Hurd Before basketball’s March Madness descends upon us, it is a little amazing that some Division I baseball teams are approaching the 20-game mark (notably Kansas at 9-7-1 through Feb. 23 and Cal Poly at 12- 4 prior to its Feb. 25-29 games). Before you know it, the NCAA Regionals will be upon us. This absolutely is one of the busiest but most intriguing times of the college sports year with as many as 10-12 sports occurring simultaneously from baseball to men’s volleyball to golf to indoor track to gosh- knows-what. It’s also refreshing to welcome the initial 2004 NCAA Division II NCBWA poll to this month’s newsletter and to see some of the baseball teams from cooler weather regions migrating south for the annual ritual of spring break baseball. The incessant pings of the aluminum bats remind us that the sights and smells of springtime and conference baseball cannot be far off; enjoy and sneak out of the arenas when time permits for some great diamond activity. Sincerely, Jeff Hurd - NCBWA President - Western Athletic Conference NCBWA Division I Players of Week The NCBWA Division I National Players of the Week are into their third week of the 2004 season. Nominees for the aw2ard are taken from Conference players of the week and announced on Tuesday. NCBWA Vice-President Mike Montoro of Southern Miss ([email protected]) coordinates the weekly awards. Here are this season’s winners: Feb. 10-1B Josh Brady, Texas Tech; P Jered Weaver, Long Beach State; Feb. 17-2B Seth Johnston, Texas; P David Purcey, Oklahoma; Feb. 24-SS Brian Bixler, Eastern Michigan; (co) P Adam Gold, California; P Jason Urquidez, Arizona State NCBWA Division III Players of Week The first NCBWA Division III Players of the Week are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, March 9 and follow each Tuesday until May 11. John Arenberg of Emory University serves as the coordinator for this weekly award. Please contact him at [email protected] for more information. First NCBWA Division II Poll of 2004 The first NCBWA Division II Poll of the 2004 season will be released on Monday, March 1. A special thanks goes out to Bob McComas of Slippery Rock for his efforts in coordinating this poll. Please contact Bob ([email protected]) for additional information. NCBWA Directory Update Check your mailboxes for the annual NCBWA Directory. The 84-page publication went out in this week’s mail, so all NCBWA members should be receiving their copy very soon. A special thanks goes out to NCBWA Past President Rob Carolla of the BIG EAST Conference for all of his work in updating the publication. NCBWA Announces Dick Howser Trophy/NCBWA All-American Award Timeline It’s never too early to start planning ahead for all-American voting. Below is the scheduled timeline for the NCBWA All-American Award process, which culminates with the naming of the 2004 Dick Howser Trophy winner in Omaha. 2004 DICK HOWSER TROPHY/NCBWA ALL-AMERICAN AWARDS TIMELINE Sun., April 18 Deadline for Initial Set of Nominations Thu., Apr. 22 First Ballot e-Mailed to Membership Sat., May 1 Deadline for First Round of Voting Thu., May 13 Second Ballot e-Mailed to Membership Fri., May 21 Deadline for Second Round of Voting Thu., May 3 Final Ballot e-Mailed to Membership Thu., June 10 Deadline for Final Round of Voting Fri., June 11 Regional Players of the Year Announced Tue., June 15 NCBWA All-American Teams Announced Fri., June 18 Dick Howser Trophy Winner Announced in Omaha Nominations and Votes should be sent to Bo Carter at 214-753-0145 (fax) or [email protected] (e-mail). Add ACC to Preseason 2004 Prognostication: Georgia Tech Favored The Atlantic Coast Conference's nine head coaches selected Georgia Tech as the top pick to win the conference championship in 2004 with six first place votes and a total of 77 points. The Yellow Jackets return eight of nine position starters and a total of 20 letterwinners from a 2003 squad that captured the ACC Championship and finished the season with a 44-18 record, including a 17-7 league mark and a trip to the NCAA Baseball Championship. On the toes of the Yellow Jackets is Florida State who finished second with 61 points and a first place vote after finishing the 2003 season as the ACC regular-season champions. Clemson finishes in third place tallying 60 points and one first place vote. The Tigers finished last season with a 39-22 overall record and were the fourth seed at the ACC Tournament with a 15-9 conference record. The North Carolina Tar Heels fill the fourth place slot with 58 points, while NC State placed fifth in the balloting with 52 points. The Wolfpack was followed by Wake Forest who finished with 36 points and then Virginia with 28 points. Duke was selected to finish eighth with 17 points and Maryland ninth with 16 points. 2004 ACC Coaches Preseason Predicted Order of Finish School Points 2003 Record 1. Georgia Tech (6)........ 77............ 44-18, 17-7 ACC 2. Florida State (1)....... 61............ 54-13-1, 19-5 ACC 3. Clemson (1)............. 60............ 39-22, 15-9 ACC 4. North Carolina.......... 58............ 42-23, 13-11 ACC 5. NC State................ 52............ 45-18, 15-9 ACC 6. Wake Forest (1)......... 36............ 29-24, 8-15 ACC 7. Virginia................ 28............ 29-25, 11-12 ACC 8. Duke.................... 17............ 18-36, 2-21 ACC 9. Maryland................ 16............ 20-33, 6-17 ACC (#) denotes first place votes Southern Conference Pre-2004 Squad Packed With Talented Veterans The Southern Conference named its preseason All-Southern Conference baseball team as selected by the league’s coaches. Ryan Gordon of UNC Greensboro, who finished fourth or better in four hitting categories in 2003, has been picked as the 2004 Preseason Player of the Year. Gordon, who doubled as both a pitcher and an outfielder, was 4-2 on the mound and finished the 2003 season with a 2.59 ERA. Offensively, Gordon contributed to the Spartans success in 2003 by leading the conference in hits with 96 and a .416 average. Gordon finished third in the conference with a .610 slugging percentage, 141 total bases and five triples. He also rapped 20 doubles and drove in 50 runs. UNC Greensboro’s Jarrett Santos has been named the SoCon’s Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Santos went 11-5 with a 3.30 ERA for the Spartans last season as a reliever. Santos ended the 2003 season leading the SoCon in appearances with 41 and second in the conference in strikeouts with 106. John Carroll (Georgia Southern), Scooter Michael (UNC Greensboro) and Derrick Hawk (Western Carolina) will join Santos on the 2004 Preseason All-Conference pitching staff. Carroll was 7-2 with a 3.75 ERA, Michael finished 6-5 with a 3.49 ERA and Hawk ended up 10-2 with a 2.86 ERA during the 2003 season. Joining Gordon in the outfield is UNCG teammate Jay Maule, Georgia Southern’s James Payne, and Davidson’s Sam Navarro. The infield includes first baseman Chip Cannon and third baseman Chris Ard of The Citadel, second baseman Todd Roper of Western Carolina, shortstop Andy Howdeshell of East Tennessee State, and catcher Derek Norman of Furman. Grant Burruss of Georgia Southern, who hit .348 last season, was the first team designated hitter. Preseason All-SoCon First Team SP John Carroll, Georgia Southern SP Scooter Michael, UNC Greensboro SP Derrick Hawk, Western Carolina RP Jarrett Santos, UNC Greensboro C Derek Norman, Furman 1B Chip Cannon, The Citadel 2B Todd Roper, Western Carolina SS Andy Howdeshell, East Tennessee State 3B Chris Ard, The Citadel OF Ryan Gordon, UNC Greensboro OF James Payne, Georgia Southern OF Sam Navarro, Davidson OF Jay Maule, UNC Greensboro DH Grant Burruss, Georgia Southern Preseason All-SoCon Second Team SP Brandon McDowell, Western Carolina SP Matt Soale, College of Charleston RP David Mitchell, Furman C Scott Holloway, Wofford 1B Steve Casey, Wofford 2B Jon Aughey, The Citadel SS Wayne Kilmer, Western Carolina 3B Chris Davis, Western Carolina OF Evan Tartaglia, Elon OF Trent Weathers, The Citadel OF Matt Nelson, Western Carolina DH Steve Calicutt, East Tennessee State Player of the Year: Ryan Gordon, OF/P, UNCG Pitcher of the Year: Jarrett Santos, UNCG CSTV Announces Preliminary 2004 College Schedule – More Contests May Be Added College Sports Television's (www.cstv.com) 2004 college baseball schedule will debut Thursday, March 11, with the live telecast of the historic Houston-San Diego State game (10 p.m., EST/9 p.m., CST/8 p.m., MST/7 p.m. PST), the inaugural game played at the new PETCO Park in San Diego. More than 26,000 tickets have already been sold for the contest, jeopardizing the college baseball single-game attendance record of 27,673 set in 2002 when Louisiana State and Tulane met in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. College Sports TV, the fastest growing independent cable network, will feature defending College World Series champion and current #1 Rice as part of CSTV Baseball, the first nationally televised college baseball series, in addition to Top 20 teams Miami (Fla.), Texas, Long Beach State, Arizona, Cal State Fullerton, Arizona State and North Carolina. Veteran sportscaster Mike Crispino will handle CSTV Baseball play-by-play duties. Kevin Stocker, a former two-time All-Pac 10 selection at shortstop for the University of Washington, and who later played in the majors for Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Anaheim, will provide color commentary.